CCAN

More than 6,500 people have signed a petition demanding that FERC reject the Mountain Valley Pipeline expansion as state concerns remain unresolved.

RICHMOND, VA — On Friday, August 7, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued its Environmental Assessment (EA) for Mountain Valley Pipeline’s (MVP) proposed “MVP Boost” expansion. While the assessment concludes that the project does not “significantly [affect] the quality of the human environment,” critics say the EA leaves a variety of critical questions unanswered. Additionally, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has suspended its review of MVP’s proposed compressor station permit due to inconsistent filings. The DEQ also raised concerns about environmental justice and community outreach to MVP, which the company has not resolved. Now, more than 6,500 people have signed a petition urging FERC to reject the MVP expansion. 

“As a resident in Elliston, we already have the trains, which are a situation in themselves that block us in where we can’t get out,” said Penny Nunes, an Elliston, Virginia resident. “Now we’ve got gas in the pipe. I find it interesting that our firehouse is in the blast zone. You can see from the blast zone: a trailer park, housing development, and ROWE Furniture, a business with about 500 employees. As soon as they put gas in the pipe, I thought about moving. But I am not gonna move. I’m gonna stay here, and I am gonna fight as hard as I can to stop this. And for FERC to do something that Virginia DEQ said is incomplete, that’s one agency stepping on the other. DEQ is right: you got a problem, you gotta fix it. But FERC may just ignore our problem and go on with it.” 

The MVP Boost proposal would drastically increase gas capacity on the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline system and add a new 136,900-horsepower compressor station in Montgomery County, Virginia, near homes, farms, a busy railroad crossing, and an environmental justice community in Elliston. FERC is reviewing the industrial water use associated with this major fossil-fuel project, even as Virginia faces mounting concerns about industrial water use prompting state lawmakers to call a special session on stronger water protections. 

“The people of Elliston, Virginia deserve clean air and a safe, healthy community,” said Russel Chisholm, Managing Director at Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights. “EQT and MVP’s massive Boost expansion and data center fever dreams directly threaten that safety while recklessly pushing the planet toward a future of more fire, flood, and displacement. People everywhere are fighting back – and prevailing – against these greedy projects by saying, ‘Enough is enough.’”

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors previously found the proposed site unsuitable, citing safety concerns that the evacuation route from the site would be blocked by train traffic. For community members, that one concern does not resolve the bigger question: whether it is appropriate to place a massive fossil fuel compressor station in a community already burdened by pollution and safety risks.

“Time and time again, FERC commits itself to an unreality where massively polluting and unsafe fossil fuel projects somehow pose no significant threat to the environment or the neighboring communities who must shoulder the burden,” said Joshua Vana, Director of ARTivism Virginia. “A rational review of the dangers posed by MVP Boost and its Swann Compressor Station should alarm any conscious person. Whether it be harmful air pollution dumped on an environmental justice community in Eastern Montgomery County, the cumulative impacts of drastically increasing MVP’s methane emissions in a world that’s on fire, or gambling on the safety of an already compromised pipeline – this project is nothing more than another bad idea from MVP, meant to cash in during a time of gross environmental deregulation, nauseating corruption, and an intensifying stench of skyrocketing corporate profits. This project must never be built.”

MVP Boost also comes after years of concerns surrounding the existing Mountain Valley Pipeline, including state violations, safety orders, and construction impacts that residents say underscore why further expansion should not be approved. Community and environmental advocates say the federal government should not advance the project while Virginia’s permit process remains paused and local opposition remains overwhelming.

“FERC is trying to build on a foundation that DEQ has already found to be flawed,” said Zander Pellegrino, Senior Field Manager at Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “MVP wants to lock us into outdated fossil fuel infrastructure and decades of climate pollution when we urgently need to transition to clean energy. It is unacceptable that the company is trying to do so on the back of environmental justice communities that have clearly said they do not want this project in their neighborhoods. FERC should stop MVP Boost and reject this dangerous expansion before it puts more communities at risk.” 

The EA was issued by FERC Friday, August 7, 2026, followed by a comment period ending on September 6, 2026, and a Federal Authorization Decision deadline on November 5, 2026.

###

Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

The post Thousands Urge Feds to Reject “MVP Boost” While Virginia DEQ Suspends Impact Review appeared first on Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

A day-long conference bringing together residents, advocates, community leaders, and public officials for discussion, training, and organizing to protect communities from dirty and dangerous data centers.

BALTIMORE, MD – With a bipartisan wave of data center opposition sweeping Maryland, two top nonprofits today unveiled plans to host the first statewide conference aimed at confronting the crisis in all its many forms. The daylong gathering on November 7 at the Baltimore Convention Center will feature everyday Marylanders and state and national leaders working to safeguard our water, air, health, climate, and insulate power bills from Big Tech’s alarming infrastructure agenda.

Nearly 80 percent of Marylanders already live in a county or city that has imposed a temporary moratorium on new data center permits, in what is perhaps the biggest and fastest grassroots rebellion in state history. Now leaders of those local fights – combined with top state officials, experts, and activists of every stripe – will bring their expertise to Baltimore to debate new ideas and offer practical next steps.

“With riveting local and national speakers, plus panels covering everything from water pollution to AI to local moratorium victories, journalists and policymakers will be able to hear and interact with everyday Marylanders working to defend their communities at the municipal, county, and state level in Maryland,” said Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

“For the first time, community leaders, organizers, and advocates from across the state will gather to share what’s working in the fight against dirty and dangerous data centers,” said Lydia Lawrence, Director of Conservation, Nature Forward. “People from urban and rural communities and across the political spectrum are uniting to protect our communities from the harmful impacts of unchecked data center expansion. This conference will send a clear message to elected officials at every level: data center reform can’t wait.” 

WHAT: Maryland’s first statewide conference on the dangers of unfettered data center growth and the practical actions communities can take to fight back

WHEN: Saturday, November 7, 2026, 10 AM – 5 PM. 

WHERE: Baltimore Convention Center, downtown Baltimore, Maryland

WHO: Prominent Maryland political leaders, activists, and everyday Marylanders

ENTRANCE: To obtain a press pass, please contact: kc@chesapeakeclimate.org

HOSTED BY: Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) and Nature Forward. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit peopleoverdatacenters.org 

###

Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Throughout its history, Nature Forward, first established in 1897 as the Audubon Society of the District of Columbia, has championed nature for all by playing a pivotal role in conserving our region’s iconic natural places from development, including the C&O Canal, Dyke Marsh, and, most recently, Ten Mile Creek. Past member and board president Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, is credited with launching the now global environmental movement. Nature Forward’s nature experts provide hundreds of opportunities each year for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy, learn about, and protect the environment.   

The post “People Over Data Centers” Maryland’s First Statewide Conference on Confronting the Data Center Crisis appeared first on Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

By Macy Brigham-Hill, DC Campaign Intern, Chesapeake Climate Action Network

Growing up in the Nation’s Capitol, I spent my summers climbing trees, exploring Rock Creek Park, playing sports, going to the Zoo, camps and playgrounds, and spending almost all of my time outside. Today, those summers are being reshaped by extreme heat. Heat advisories, cancellations, and warnings to stay indoors are frequent experiences for children and families in D.C. Now, as a rising college senior, I feel frustration for kids like my younger sister, whose summers are being threatened and changed by climate change. As extreme heat worsens, we will continue to witness its negative impacts on people’s physical and mental health and overall well-being.

This Fourth of July marked the hottest in D.C. history, surpassing the record in 1919, with temperatures over 100°F. The city issued an extreme heat warning as the heat index was expected to reach 105-115°F in many areas. While high humidity increases the risk of heat-related illness, consistently high temperatures throughout the day produced life-threatening conditions for residents partaking in outdoor plans and events.

On the National Mall, celebrations were cut short due to the dangerous temperatures. D.C. Fire and EMS reported 96 patient contacts and 40 patient transports. People were seen lying on the ground and on stretchers with ice, as they were loaded into ambulances. A total of 603 people received first aid in one day.

High temperatures and humidity are the deadliest extreme weather events worldwide, with thousands of people dying from heat each year in the U.S. alone. A Virginia study on extreme heat, when projected nationally, estimates that heat-related hospital visits and illness cost approximately $1 billion in health care costs each summer. Extreme heat is also particularly dangerous in cities like D.C., due to the urban heat-island effect, which happens when pavement, buildings, and other hard surfaces absorb and trap heat instead of cooling down. This means majority Black and Brown communities, which often have less tree cover, more asphalt, fewer parks, and more development shaped by decades of unequal urban planning, can be about 17 degrees hotter than others on the same day. Neighborhoods such as Ivy City, Trinidad, and the Navy Yard have faced some of the city’s highest heat risks, making extreme heat a public health emergency and an issue of environmental justice.

Extreme heat also places intense strain on public infrastructure and essential resources that residents depend on. Heatwaves overwhelm the U.S. grid, leading to cancellations and delays. During the July heatwave, PJM, our regional grid manager, issued a federal alert to cut electricity consumption across its territory, which impacted all D.C. residents and resulted in higher AC bills and even blackouts. Amtrak also stated that trains would run at reduced speeds and people could experience delays throughout the day. D.C. summers have always been hot, but climate change is making extreme heatwaves more frequent, intense, and dangerous.

National Research Council. 2026. Attribution of Extreme Weather and Climate Events and Their Impacts.  DC and Beyond: Scientists Link Extreme Heatwaves to Climate Change

World Weather Attribution (WWA), an international network of scientists, conducts rapid studies of extreme events to determine the influence of climate change. A recent article by WWA analyzed this heatwave and determined that the combination of heat and humidity experienced in early July would have been virtually impossible without climate change.

These kinds of attribution studies are becoming more crucial in lawsuits focused on holding fossil fuel companies financially responsible for climate-related damages. Researchers can even trace aspects of these damages to specific emission sources and fossil fuel companies that are responsible for the largest share of emissions.

What We’re Doing: Make Polluters Pay Campaign

D.C. residents are already paying the price of climate change in higher utility bills, increased hospital visits, and strains on public systems that families rely on, particularly in minority, overburdened, and underserved communities. CCAN Action Fund’s Make Polluters Pay campaign aims to take the burden off of taxpayers and put it on the shoulders of the largest, most polluting fossil fuel companies. Climate change could cost every D.C. resident born in 2024 an extra $500,000 to 1 million over their lifetime. Meanwhile, in the same year, the largest fossil-fuel emitters’ profits totaled more than $102,000,000,000.

In June, the D.C. Council passed the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study Amendment Act to kickstart a study to determine the total financial cost of climate change on D.C. and how exactly extreme weather impacts the city. The results would help guide investments towards heatwave relief, flood protection, and public infrastructure and transportation improvements and so much more. Sign the Make Polluters Pay petition to make sure the biggest fossil fuel companies cover the costs of climate change-related extreme weather damages.

Sign the Petition to Make Polluters Pay!

About the author: Macy Brigham-Hill (she/her) is the DC Campaign Intern for summer 2026. In her role, she supports the DC team by assisting with community outreach, organizing, and coalition-building to advance campaign goals. She is a rising senior at Tulane University, where she is working towards a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Sociology, with a minor in Climate Change: Science and Practice.

Macy’s passion for environmental advocacy began at a young age, shaped by her love of nature and animals. She hopes to pursue a career in environmental policy, advocacy, and research, working at the intersection of climate adaptation and mitigation within communities most vulnerable to climate impacts.

The post DC Summers Are Getting More Extreme and Expensive – Who’s Responsible? appeared first on Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

PJM’s mismanagement of the grid has worsened reliability, raised energy prices, and increased pollution, enriching the for-profit companies who comprise the majority of its voting members

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lawmakers and advocates from several states gathered today outside the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to call for needed reforms in the governance of PJM Interconnection (PJM), the organization that manages the power grid for 13 states and Washington, D.C.

Inside, FERC was meeting to consider PJM’s governance and stakeholder processes, with a particular focus on identifying and evaluating concrete, actionable reforms to improve PJM’s ability to address “operational and market needs in a timely and efficient manner,” according to the FERC website.

Advocates and lawmakers argue that PJM’s current governance structure gives disproportionate voting power to market participants with financial interests in the outcomes of its decisions. As it stands, PJM’s conflicts of interest and self-dealing have caused it to mismanage the grid, leading directly to surging energy prices. 

In addition, PJM’s policies are delaying lower-cost clean energy projects while keeping more expensive power sources on the system – contributing to higher electricity bills across the region. A recent analysis found that if PJM were to allow more clean energy to connect to the grid, it would save each of its customers $500 a year through lower energy bills. Meanwhile, PJM is forcing ratepayers to pay coal plants just south of Baltimore hundreds of millions of dollars to stay open, when cleaner alternatives would be less expensive. 

“PJM’s decisions affect every household and business across our region. However, the elected officials accountable to those ratepayers – the families and businesses who ultimately pay the bills – do not have a meaningful voice in the process,” said Maryland Senator Katie Fry Hester (Howard and Montgomery counties). “The PJM Legislators’ Collaborative, made up of legislators across the PJM states, is calling for a new governance framework that (1) clearly defines PJM’s public-interest mission, (2) gives states a meaningful institutional role, (3) strengthens Board independence and accountability, (4) modernizes decision-making, and (5) improves transparency and oversight. This will lead to better decisions, greater accountability, and ultimately more affordable rates for the millions of people we represent.” 

“Back in Jersey, people are having to choose between groceries or their energy bill – this is what happens when monopolies at the top put profits over people without any effective oversight,” said United States Senator Andy Kim (New Jersey). “We need transparency, accountability, and real solutions from PJM about how they plan to bring costs down for millions of people and stop price gouging those who simply should not have to live like this.”  

“The latest capacity auction has again highlighted PJM’s total failure to properly manage our electric grid and keep costs down for Pennsylvania’s families and local businesses,” said Molly Parzen, executive director, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania. “We can no longer trust PJM to police itself. The public deserves real transparency that lifts the veil on its secretive operations. We need PJM to remove artificial obstacles that are keeping clean energy projects from coming online and lowering energy prices for families who are struggling.”

“As state lawmakers, we are responsible for ensuring an affordable, reliable, and clean grid. Yet, our policies are consistently thwarted by policies established by PJM,” said Maryland Delegate Lorig Charkoudian (Montgomery County). “PJM’s policies are developed through a stakeholder process in which the market participants have the strongest voices. This means that the generators and transmission owners, those who stand to gain the most financially from the policies, are driving the PJM policies. It’s time to shift PJM away from serving industry to serving the public interest. This means putting state policies front and center and including state policymakers in the decision-making process.”

“When the electricity sector was deregulated in the early 2000s, PJM was founded by FERC to have independent authority over the for-profit companies that would be operating as monopolies in the electric energy sector,” said Pennsylvania Representative Joe Webster (Montgomery County). “Today, PJM is subject to those industries, for lack of governance. That sector has failed to innovate. It makes record profits, and our ratepayers in Pennsylvania, in New Jersey and Maryland, and across the region are paying higher and higher electric bills. So, I really can’t say this enough times:  It is time to push PJM back into its original role, to support new energy sources and innovation, and to do that to favor ratepayers, to lower electric costs for every household in the region.” 

“Too often consumers and state policymakers are left on the sidelines when PJM is making critical decisions, resulting in families and small businesses paying the price for expensive coal plants while delaying lower-cost clean energy projects,” said Quentin Scott, Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) Federal Policy Director. “FERC has both the authority and the responsibility to ensure that PJM’s governance is transparent and accountable to the public interest. It’s time to reform PJM’s stakeholder process so that the people who pay the bills—and the state regulators charged with protecting the public interest—have a meaningful voice in shaping the future of our electric grid.” 

“Years of PJM’s slow-moving process failures are now landing on kitchen tables across New Jersey. This conference is a chance to build a record for real change, giving states and ratepayers a genuine voice, unclogging the interconnection queue so ready projects can connect, and ending preferential treatment that keeps costs high. We’ll be watching closely for FERC to move from listening to acting,” said Anjuli Ramos-Busot, Director for the New Jersey Sierra Club.

“We are here to ask PJM to put ratepayers’ interests first,” said Rebecca Rehr, director of Climate Policy and Justice, Maryland League of Conservation Voters. “A fundamental flaw in PJM’s governance structure is that it is not designed to prioritize ratepayer or affordability needs. We’re seeing mismanagement at PJM and the resulting electricity cost spikes in part because states and ratepayer advocates lack an adequate voice at the table.” 

###

The post Lawmakers and Advocates Call for PJM Governance Reforms to Serve the Public, Not Private Profit appeared first on Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

Florida-based company has history of rate hikes and political manipulation

 

RICHMOND, VA — Today, Florida-based electric utility NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy submitted a merger application to the State Corporation Commission (SCC). Following the acquisition, NextEra would become the largest regulated electric utility monopoly in the United States, serving roughly 10 million customers across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) called on the Virginia State Corporation Commission and federal regulators to reject NextEra Energy’s proposed $67 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy, warning that the deal isn’t really about serving Virginia families — it’s about seizing control of the largest concentration of AI data centers on Earth, and locking residential ratepayers in as the guarantors of that buildout.

“A transaction of this size doesn’t just combine two balance sheets — it combines two risk profiles into one, at a scale no regulator has ever had to govern before,” said Victoria Higgins, CCAN’s Virginia Director. “And NextEra’s risk profile isn’t hypothetical. It’s a $150 million political scandal. It’s funding fake candidates to spoil elections. It’s a decade of rate hikes in Florida. Even more troublingly, NextEra has made clear this deal is all about seizing control of the AI data center boom. Already, Virginians are being asked to bankroll the wealthiest companies in the world. Now, we are being asked to trust the largest utility monopoly in the world in serving those corporate interests. None of this is for the purpose of benefiting Virginia families.”

NextEra has a history of prioritizing corporate profit and increasing energy bills. NextEra’s Florida utility, Florida Power & Light, retained 27.4% of its $18.26 billion in 2024 revenue as corporate profit — nearly double the roughly 14.6% industry average — while implementing a $6.9 billion rate increase. The $2.25 billion in temporary bill credits NextEra is dangling to win over Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina regulators is a one-time payment, not a structural protection— and it comes from a company projecting roughly 11% annual growth in infrastructure spending through 2035, costs that are passed off – with interest – to Virginia customers.

NextEra brings a documented record of steamrolling anyone who slows it down. The company just agreed to pay $150 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit over its role in Florida political schemes, including funding secret “ghost” candidates to defeat lawmakers who challenged the utility and surveilling a journalist covering the company. 

#   #   #

Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

The post NextEra-Dominion Merger Is Designed to Speed-Run the Data Center Boom — With Virginians Guaranteeing the Bill appeared first on Chesapeake Climate Action Network.